Understanding Control Panels V2

The second version of control panels in Inspect Point contains many improvements over the original, including a new report layout, consolidated questions, and changes to the backend. These changes apply to fire alarm and special hazard control panels, and will be covered in detail in this article.

Before we begin, it’s important to note that Control Panels V2 will not be turned on by default. To activate V2, contact your CSM and it will be loaded into your instance. 

Report Changes

The Control Panels V2 report has several changes from V1, all aimed at a more concise presentation. V2 consists of 11 questions, compared to over 25 on V1. V2 is broken down into three sections - Control Panel Information, Control Panel, and Control Panel Batteries. 

Information consists of attributes on the panel, things like location, manufacturer, and model. Because these attributes are fixed, they will carry over on each new inspection. 

The Control Panel and Batteries sections contain the questions to be answered for each component of the panel. These questions will be covered in detail later in the article.

Panels are displayed on the report based on their position, with 1 displaying first, 2 displaying second, and so on. Positions can be edited in the field via the position field or in the backend by clicking and dragging the 6 dots to the left of each panel.

It is recommended that the main panel on the system be assigned a position of 1, with additional panels to follow. This way, the main panel always prints first on the report. 

Question Changes

By eliminating the second battery on the panel, the number of questions asked for Control Panels V2 has shrunk considerably from V1. The new panel questions are:

• Interface Equipment
• Lamps / LEDs
• Fuses
• Primary Supply Power
• Trouble Switches
• Disconnect Switches
• Pass / Fail

Note: when inspecting a special hazard control panel, an additional question - Pre-Discharge Timer - will be asked. 

Additionally, the battery questions for V2 are:

• Battery Voltage w/ Charger
• Battery Voltage w/o Charger
• Load Test %

These questions can be accessed in the backend under Manage Control Panel Questions in the Settings tab.

Here, each control panel section will display. For each question in these sections, you have the option to change position, edit, and/or deactivate. 

When editing a question, you can change the following fields:

• Question Text
• Question Type (Yes/No, Multiple Choice, Text, Pass/Fail)
• Frequency Type
• Ignore Deficiency
• Active

Once all changes have been made, click Save to lock in these changes. 

In addition to adding or removing questions, sections can also be added or removed. Clicking the “+ Section” button on the right side of the screen allows you to create a new section. 

Once created, you’ll see the new section and have the option to change its position. Like with control panels themselves, making the position closer to 1 will display this question section higher on the report, while a lower position will display it further down on the report.

Other Backend Changes

Once questions have been finalized and an inspection has been sent back to the office, answers for control panels can be viewed on the Inspection Detail screen via the “# of Answers” button.

Here, the full list of questions asked for each control panel will be displayed. 

Clicking the blue ID number for each question lets you edit the answer and provide additional information. 

From the Answer Detail screen, you can change the answer to the question and add notes and photos.